Benin Court Head Representing Ife
Nigeria
A head constructed along a vertical axis, the form organised through a cylindrical neck supporting a contained facial volume surmounted by a crown with projecting brim and upright finial.
Description
Fine vertical striations are incised across the facial plane from forehead to chin. The crown is organised in two registers: a lower band of diamond-lattice patterning and an upper band of raised triangular ornament extending laterally into a projecting brim. A braided finial rises from a floral-form medallion at the crown’s apex and terminates in a bud-shaped knop. Relief patterning continues across the exterior crown surfaces. The rear of the crown is open.
Surface is compact and stable. Oxidation is retained within recessed fields and incised registers; exposure is present at projecting elements.
Context
Among the Benin, court heads of this type functioned within ancestral altar contexts associated with royal lineage and commemorative practice.
Provenance
From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Nigeria, 1985.
Details
- Title
- Benin Court Head Representing Ife
- Culture
- Benin
- Origin
- Nigeria
- Date
- 20th century
- Dimensions
- H 47 cm (18.5 in) · W 20 cm (7.9 in) · D 22 cm (8.7 in)
- Medium
- Cast bronze
- Provenance
- From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Nigeria, 1985.
- Condition
- Stable oxidation; incised definition preserved.
